A first look at the Contour Roam 2

It’s no secret that I love hardy little video cameras. The GoPro Hero, the Contour, the Sony ActionCam and the JVC ADIXXION are all models that can take a punch… and they’re all evolving. So far this month we’ve seen the new GoPro Hero 3, and today we’re taking a look at the Contour Roam 2.

The Contour has always been a bit of an interesting device. Built for extreme sports, it’s tough and is waterproof without a case. It’s very much a Helmet Cam, with hardware to mount in a few different ways on your bean-protectors. The Contour Roam 2 carries that tradition on, and adds some welcome new features.

The first may seem superficial, but the model I’ve got here is Blue, one of three bold colours (in addition to black) that are available. If you DO manage to dislodge it, it’ll be easier to find–I like that. The brushed metal body still gives way to comfortable plastic controls, and the body is sealed against water!. Also in the box are a variety of mounts including a rotating mount and a direct helmet mount. If you’ve got an original Contour, it’ll mount to the same hardware.

The locking record switch is very easy to access and hard to accidentally turn off. A shrill alarm goes off if you try to record without a memory card, so it should minimize those “I need to to it AGAIN!?” moments. The on button depresses in a satisfying way, and when you do crack it open, you’ll find mini-USB for charging and a slot for a Micro SD card. The camera comes with an adapter so you can use SD card readers built into some computers.